Plever, described as a 35-year racing veteran, at one point served as racing secretary at defunct Sportsman’s Park, but his most recent job was as a jockey’s agent in Chicago.

In a Hawthorne news release, Plever suggested he would institute changes in the racing program during Hawthorne’s 2013 fall-winter race meet, which starts in October.

“We’re going to be successful not just by getting more horses into the races, but by writing races that horsemen want to, and are able to, enter,” he said.

Jim Miller, the assistant general manager and an integral part of Hawthorne’s management team, left his position in January. Miller was replaced by John Walsh, a longtime Hawthorne employee who has held various positions within the organization.